Nigerian Fulfulde, also known as Hausa States Fulfulde, Fula, or Fulani is a variety of the Fula language spoken by the Fulani people in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region of Nigeria. It belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Phonologically, Nigerian Fulfulde exhibits a system of vowel harmony and a relatively simple consonant inventory, including stops, fricatives, and nasal sounds.[1][2][3][4]
| Nigerian Fulfulde | |
|---|---|
| Fulfulde Caka Naajeeriya فُلْفُلْدٜ شَکَ نَاجٜىٰرِيَ | |
| Native to | Nigeria[1] |
| Region | Sahel |
| Ethnicity | Fula |
Native speakers | 17 million (2020)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Arabic (Ajami) Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | fuv |
| Glottolog | nige1253 |
The syntax of Nigerian Fulfulde is characterized by a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, but it is flexible due to the use of extensive nominal and verbal agreement markers. These markers convey information about gender, number, and person, playing a crucial role in indicating grammatical relationships within sentences. The language employs a complex system of noun classes, which impacts both nominal and verbal concord.[2][3][4]
Word order in Nigerian Fulfulde is subject to pragmatic and contextual factors, allowing for variations in emphasis and focus. It often employs topic-comment structures, with the topic appearing at the beginning of the sentence and the comment providing additional information. Additionally, the language features extensive use of proverbs, idioms, and metaphors, reflecting the cultural characteristics of the Fulani people.[2][3][4]
In terms of sociolinguistics, Nigerian Fulfulde is used in various domains, including everyday communication, traditional ceremonies, and religious contexts.[2][3][4]
Nigerian Fulfulde has 40–50% intelligibility with Adamawa Fulfulde and is most similar to Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde.
Origins edit
Nigerian Fulfulde is thought to have originated by some time in the 16th and 17th centuries with the arrival of Fulani pastoralists into Nigeria from Senegambia. As they migrated, they gradually settled in various parts of present-day Nigeria.
The Fulani movement into Nigeria was influenced by factors such as environmental changes, the search for pasture for their cattle, and interactions with diverse ethnic groups.
By the 19th century, the language became widespread across the northern region of Nigeria and in the early 19th century was spread by military conquest by Usman dan Fodio. Nigerian Fulfulde also spread throughout Nigeria by immigration and pastoralists groups moving throughout the Sahel region in search of water for their pastures.[5]
Orthography edit
Nigerian Fulfulde is written using Ajami and Latin scripts.
The use of Arabic script to write local languages of West Africa, especially in Northern Nigeria, started by the Islamic clerics in Hausa city states since the arrival of Islam in the region through Malian cleric merchants in the 14th century. Although not initially widely used, it nevertheless provided those fluent in its script with a literacy device that enabled them to exchange written communication, without necessarily being fluent in the Arabic. Interestingly, for many centuries, the sedentary rural and urban population of the Hausa city-states used Arabic as the main literary language, as it was seen as the more prestigious means of communication. It was in fact the semi-nomadic Fulfulde community of Northern Nigeria that wrote its native language in 'Ajami script' than the urban-rural Hausa community. Fulɓe people of Northern Nigeria have a rich literary and poetry tradition..[6][7]
Since 2003, a standardized derivation of the Arabic script with the Ajami variant, in the Hafs tradition, but with 13 adaptations has been used to write the language.[1][8] This includes a Fulfulde translation of the Bible as well.[9]
Nigerian Fulfulde is also written with Latin Script in line with the Pan-Nigerian alphabet.
Nigerian Fulfulde Ajami alphabet edit
Table below illustrates the Nigerian Fulfulde Ajami alphabet, the yellow highlights indicating letters that are exclusively used for writing loanwords and do not correspond to independent phonemes, 9 in total. Green highlights letters and digraphs that are either adaptations of the 28 original Arabic letters or are brand new letters for phonemes unique to Fulfulde, 13 in total.
4 of the 13 consist of digraphs representing the 4 prenasalized consonants present in Fulfulde. The first letter of the digraph representing a prenasalized consonant cannot take any diacritic, not even a zero-vowel diacritic sukun '◌ْ'.
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ا ( - / ’ / Aa aa ) [∅]/[ʔ]/[aː] |
ب (B b) [b] |
ٻ (Ɓ ɓ) [ɓ] |
ت (T t) [t] |
ث (S s) [s] |
ج (J j) [ɟ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ح (H h) [h] |
خ (K k) [k]([x]) |
د (D d) [d] |
ذ (J j) [ɟ]([z]) |
ر (R r) [ɾ] |
ز (J j) [ɟ]([z]) |
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
س (S s) [s] |
ش (C c) [t͡ʃ]~[c] |
ص (S s) [s] |
ض (L l) [l] |
ط (Ɗ ɗ) [ɗ] |
ظ (J j) [ɟ]([z]) |
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ع (- / ’ ) [ʔ] |
غ (G g) [ɡ] |
ݝ (Ŋ ŋ) [ŋ] |
ف (F f) [f] |
ڤ (P p) [p] |
ق (K k) [k] |
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ک (K k) [k] |
ل (L l) [l] |
م (M m) [m] |
مب (Mb mb) [ᵐb] |
ن (N n) [n] |
نج (Nj nj) [ᶮɟ] |
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ند (Nd nd) [ⁿd] |
نغ (Ng ng) [ᵑɡ] |
ݧـ ݧ (Ny ny) [ɲ] |
ه (H h) [h] |
و (W w/Oo oo/Uu uu) [w]/[oː]/[uː] |
ي (Y y/Ii ii) [j]/[iː] |
| Arabic (Latin) [IPA] |
ىٰ (Ee ee) [eː] |
ۑ (Ƴ ƴ) [ʄ] |
|
|
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Fulfulde Latin Alphabet edit
| A a | Aa aa | B b | Mb mb | Ɓ ɓ | C c | D d | Nd nd | Ɗ ɗ | E e | Ee ee | F f | G g | Ng ng | H h | I i | Ii ii | J j | Nj nj |
| [a] | [aː] | [b] | [ᵐb] | [ɓ] | [t͡ʃ]~[c] | [d] | [ⁿd] | [ɗ] | [e] | [eː] | [f] | [ɡ] | [ᵑɡ] | [h] | [i] | [iː] | [ɟ] | [ᶮɟ] |
| K k | L l | M m | N n | Ny ny | Ŋ ŋ | O o | Oo oo | P p | R r | S s | T t | U u | Uu uu | W w | X x | Y y | Ƴ ƴ | ’ |
| [k] | [l] | [m] | [n] | [ɲ] | [ŋ] | [o] | [oː] | [p] | [r] | [s] | [t] | [u] | [uː] | [w] | [x] | [j] | [jˤ] | [ʔ] |
Sample Text edit
Passage from the Bible, Book of Acts, Chapter 9, verses 4 and 5:[10]
| Translation | 4 He fell to the ground and heardd a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. |
|---|---|
| Latin Script | 4 O yani e leydi, o nani hononde e wi'amo, “Caawulu, Caawulu, ngam ɗume torrataayam?” 5 Caawulu wi'i, “Mawɗo, an ɗum moye?” Hononde nden wi'imo, “Min woni Yeesu mo torrataa. |
| Ajami Script | ٤ اٛ يَنِ اٜ لٜيْدِ، اٛ نَنِ حٛنٛنْدٜ اٜ وِعَمٛ، «شَاوُلُ، شَاوُلُ، نغَمْ طُمٜ تٛرَّتَايَمْ؟» ٥ شَاوُلُ وِعِ، «مَوْطٛ، اَنْ طُمْ مٛيٜ؟» حٛنٛنْدٜ ندٜنْ وِعِمٛ، «مِنْ وٛنِ عيسىٰ (يٜىٰسُ) مٛ تٛرَّتَا؞ |
References edit
- ^ a b c d Nigerian Fulfulde at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ a b c d Arnott, D. W. (December 10, 1970). The Nominal and Verbal Systems of Fula. Clarendon Press.
- ^ a b c d Dryer, Matthew; Haspelmath, Martin (2022). "The World Atlas of Language Structures Online". Zenodo.Org. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7385533.
- ^ a b c d "The use of proper nouns as an index of group identity in Fulfulde personal narratives". SIL International. January 24, 2013.
- ^ http://www.rogerblench.info/Pastoralism/PastAf/Nigeria/FulBe%20identity%201990.pdf
- ^ Uba Adamu, Aballa. (2023, September) The Gutenberg Principle: Hausa Digital Alàr̃ammà and Ajamīzation of Knowledge. Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. Published for Conference on Arabic in Africa: Historical and Sociolinguistic perspectives, University of Bayreuth, Germany. [1]
- ^ Dobronravine, N., Philips, J.E., 2004. Hausa ajami literature and script: colonial innovations and post-colonial myths in northern Nigeria. Lang. Africa 15, 85–110. Retrieved from. [2]. (PDF Access)
- ^ a b Warren-Rothlin, Andy. 2012. Arabic script in modern Nigeria . In Roger M. Blench and Stuart McGill (eds.), Advances in minority language research in Nigeria, Vol. I. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe, 105-121. Rüdiger Köppe. (PDF Access)
- ^ اَلْکَوَلْ کٜسَلْ ندٜرْ فُلْفُلْدٜ شَکَ نَاجٜىٰرِيَ (Alkawal Kesal Nder Fulfulde Caka Naajeeriya) (2011)https://www.bible.com/versions/2377-FUV-
- ^ Bible.com. Nigerian Fulfulde [FUV], Parallel, Ajami and Latin. Acts Chapter 9. https://www.bible.com/en-GB/bible/2377/ACT.9.FUV?parallel=1159
External Links edit
- Translation of the Bible into Nigerian Fulfulde (Ajami Script). «اَلْکَوَلْ کٜسَلْ ندٜرْ فُلْفُلْدٜ شَکَ نَاجٜىٰرِيَ» (Alkawal Kesal Nder Fulfulde Caka Naajeeriya) (2011)https://www.bible.com/versions/2377-FUV-</ref>
- Translation of the Bible into Nigerian Fulfulde (Latin Script). "Alkawal Kesal Nder Fulfulde Caka Naajeeriya" (2010)https://www.bible.com/fr/versions/1159-FUV-fulfulde-nigeria</ref>